Murdoch's checks

By BEN SMITH

10/01/2010 10:59 AM EDT

It's not just people on the left, like Jonathan Chait, who wonder about the logic of News Corp.'s big checks to pro-GOP groups.

The problem, Chait writes:

This makes zero sense to me. The value of News Corp to the Republican party is massive. It's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Why also give money to Republicans? By openly donating to the party, you help tear away the mask of objectivity, thereby reducing your own value as a propaganda outlet. It seems like a bad move both for Fox and the GOP. (If I'm the Republicans, I'd rather have Fox retain a more plausible claim of objectivity.) And if you're Fox, you're obviously making a joke out of your "Fair and Balanced" mantra.

One possible answer: A person close to News Corp. told me this week the company didn't realize its $1 million to the RGA would become public. And the $1 million to Chamber of Commerce was supposed to be secret as well.